In June, I Called Nikol Pashinyan Twice, but He Did Not Call Back: Manukyan

In June, I called Nikol Pashinyan twice, but he did not call back. This was unprecedented. This was stated today by the President of the Public Council, Vazgen Manukyan, during a council meeting.

“Let me say that I am not in favor of revolutions, but a situation had developed that gave hope that our state should somehow move forward. A new phase was starting in the development of the state. At some point, I began to feel disappointed because I saw that what was being done was not leading us in that direction. For me, discussions about vetting, transitional justice, and politicizing the March 1 trial, as well as attacks on judges, were unacceptable. So in June, I decided out of concern to meet with Nikol Pashinyan and convey my advice and doubts to him. I called him twice in June, and he didn’t call back. This was unprecedented because such a thing had not happened either with him, with Serzh Sargsyan, with Robert Kocharian, or with Levon Ter-Petrosyan. I felt that this person did not want to talk,” said Manukyan.

Manukyan finds the events taking place in Armenia to be surprising. According to him, initially, there was talk of fighting corruption, but now this process has taken on an incomprehensible nature, with the accusations against former Speaker of Parliament Ara Babloyan being a vivid example of this.

“Now I live in a country that resembles 1937,” said Manukyan. He noted that in recent weeks, there have been assaults directed at the Public Council, which are primarily aimed at him. Moreover, they are discussing whether Armenia needs a Public Council.